Reinforced textile fabric.



Z. S. BLACKADAR.

REINFORCED TEXTILE FABRIC.

APPLICATION FILED maze, 1010.

1,004,622.. Patented 0013.3,1911.

.5, flaw T/(BMWMM 2 M 2% m UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ZEBINA S. BLACKADAR, OF WHITMAN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE EMERSON FABRIC COMPANY, OF ROCKLAND, MASSA- CHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

REINFORCED TEXTILE FABRIC.

To all whom it may concern:

Be. it known that I, ZEnIrIA S. BLACKADAR, of Whitman, in the-county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reinforced Textile Fabrics, of which the fol lowing is a specification. I I This invention has for its object to provide a woven fabric which is practically inextensible both in the direction of length of its warp threads, and of its weft threads, the fabric of my invention being adapted for various; purposes requiring a considerable degreeof textile strength, and among others for use as a backing for leather parts or pieces of boot and shoe uppers, the piece of fabric being cemented to one side of, a

piece of leather and by reason of its inextensibility preventing extension or stretching of the leather.

; Among the important advantages of making leather inextensible in the manner indieated,-is the freedom of the outer surface of the leather from liability to crack when said, surface is glossy as in ordinary patent or enameled leathers.

In Letters Patentof the United States, No. 891,454 dated June :23, l908,"an improved reinforced leather is set forth and claimed, the same consisting of a sheet or piece of leather having a finished outer face and a woven reinforcing layer attached to its inner face',"said reinforced layer being thin and flexible and comprising metallic warp and weft strands alternating with nonmetallie warp and weft strands or threads, whereby the reinforcing" -layer. and the leather piece are. rendered-inextens ble.

The present-invention has for its ob ect to provides. woven fabric adapted for various purposes when practical lnextenslblhty of the fab'ricis required, the fabric of my invention being adapted for. use as the above-mentioned reinforcing layer and for other, purposes.

The nvention consists a woven fabric composed of a relative large number of OIdlnary fibrous non'metallic warp and weft threads, which are hereinafter referred to, as plainthreads, and a suitable number of composite warp and weft threads alternating with groups of the plain threads, each composite thread comprising a core of fibrous material, closely twisted, and a wrapper wound he lically on the core and imparting Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ()ct;3,'1911,

- to the composite thread a screw-head forma tion which enables it to interlock with the adjacent plain threads extending beside and across at and with the composite threads wh1ch extend across it, the wrap er being also lnterlocked by said screw ormation with the fibrous core so that the wrapper and core together constitute a reinforcing strand whlch reduces the extensibility of-the fabrie to the minimum, by reason of the interlockmg of the outer surface of the wrap er with threads contacting with it, and of t e interlockin of the inner-surface of the wrapper with t e core. The wrapperis preferably formed by a fiat sided metal ribbon, wound helically'on the core and having the edges of its: eonvolutions deflected and forming hehcal ribs or ridges which so indent and are interlocked with the plain threads, the" core, and other composite" threads, that elongation of the fabric by lon 'tudinal strain on the warp and -weft threa s is prevented, the composite threads imparting to the fabric practically the same degree of inextensibility that itwould possess if the were entirely of metal.- At the same time, the structure of each composite thread is such that, unlike an all metal thread, it can be flattened by compression without forming a ridge on the surface of the fabric. The last mentioned characteristic of the composite reinforcing threads is especially advantageous when the fabric is used to reinforce leather, because the pressure employed in cementing the layers of leather and fabric together does not cause the reinforcing threads to bulge the leather layers outwardly and thus form ridges thereon.

Of the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specificationF1gure 1 represents a side view of a piece or fragment of fabric embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a magnified side view of a portion of oneof the composite reinforcing threads or strands. -Fig. 3 represents a section on line 33 of Fig. 2. .Fig. *hrepresents a section on line 4-4 'of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 represents a view similar to Fig. 4, showing the reinforcing thread flattened. Fig. 6 represents a magnified section on line 7- 7 of Fig. 1.

Similar referencecharacters indicate the same or similar parts in all the figures.

In the drawmgs, a represents a piece of woven-fabric composed of-plam warp and weftthreads suitably, interwoven, said threads being of any suitable fibrous material suchascotton, the fibers or filaments of which are closely twisted to form a firm fabric. The said plain warp and weft threads are represented somewhat conventionally in Fig. 1 where'the lighter parallel lines 2 represent the warp threads, and the lighter parallel lines 3 represent the weft threads. The said plain warp and weft threads constitute the greater part of the area of the fabric.

The fabric includes a relatively small number of warp threads 4 and weft threads 5 5 of composite construction, the composite warpthreads 4 alternating with groups 'of plain warp threads 2 while the composite weft threads 5 alternate with groups of plain weft threads The composite warp and weft threads -'are all of the same construction. each being composed of a core 4 composed of' closely twisted non-metallic fibers of cotton or other suitable material and a wrapper, which, in the preferred embodiment of my invention, is'composed of a flat-sided metallic ribbon 4 wound helically on the core, the edges of 'theconvolw tions of said ribbon being in close proximity to each'ot-her and preferably abutted together.

The metallic ribbon is preferably composed of ametal'or' alloy known as tinsel, its width being considerably in excess of itsthickness. as indicated in Fig. 3. The edges of the ribbon are deflected or bent outwardly by the operation of winding'the ribbon around the core,'and by the sinuosities imparted to the composite thread by the 'weaving'operation, and thus form helical ribs or ridges 49 which indent the portions of the plain 40 threads 2 and 3 with which they are in contact. 'For example, the ridges of each of the composite warp threads indent the adjacent plain warp threads extending beside it, and the plain weft threads extending across it,

the ridges of the composite weft threads ridges of the composite weft threads-at the similarly 1 denting the adjacent plain weft threads and the crossing plain warp threads. Moreover, the ridges of each series of composite warp threads are interlocked withthe points of intersection of the composite warp and weft threads. It will .bescen, therefore, that in the completed fabric, the composite threads are practicallyinextensible'and impart this quality to the entire fabric, the

threads are adapted to-be flattened as i r idi-- v composite threads being the-equivalent of the continuous metallic threads, shown in the above mentioned Letters Patent. At

the same time, the composite reinforcing cated by Fig. 5 by pressure exerted 'on the sides of the fabric, so that they will not indent and form ridges on apiece of leather pressed against the fabric,

55 In practice the composite threads-are of a ofsaid convolution substantially the same size as the plain threads, all the threads being of any size required .to constitute a fabric of the ,desired strength and thickness.

used for reinforcing leatherparts of boot and shoe uppers, should berelatively thin and composed. of relatively small or fine threads. For other purposes the fabric may be thicker an'dcomposed of coarser threads.

.The fabric is closely woven so that the rection both of its warp and weft threads is due first, to the fact that the composite threads are of such construction that the plain threads in contact with the composite threads cannotslip on the latter; secondly,

to the fact that the. composite weft threads are interlocked with the. composite warp threads-at the points of intersection so that each series of composite threads prevents the slipping of the other composite threads,

The fabric, when and lastly to the fact that the wrappings of the composite threads cannot slip on the cores thereof.

I claim.

1, 'A' woven fabric composed of warp and weft threads suitably interwoven, each series including a relatively closely twisted plain threads, and a smaller number of composite reinforcing threads, al-

ternating with groups of said plain threads,

and each composed of' a closely twisted compressible fibrous coreand a' metallic wrapper formed by a"flat-sided metal ribbon wound helical y with the edges of the convolutions in close proximity to each faces of the convolutions o the wrapper engaging both the plainthreads and the wrappers of the composite threads in contact therewith, while the-internal surfaces s engageithe' core around and" closely on said core,"

other, 'th' external sur-- large number of which they are wrapped, whereby the fabric .is practically inextensiblo both lengthwise and crosswise 2. A woven fabric'composed of warp arid,

weft threads suitably interwoven, each series including a relatively large number of closely twisted plain threads and a smaller number of composite reinforcing threadsalternating with groups of said plain threads, twisted fibrous core. and a metallic wrapper formed by afiat-sided metal ribbon wound helically on said core, with the edges and each composed of a closelyof the convolutions in close. proximity to cores of the composite threads being mp ,each other and abntted together, said edges pressible. being deflated and forming helical ribs In testimony whereof I have affixed m V which are interlocked with the plain threads signature, in presence of two 'lluesseS.

5 and with the composite threads in contact ZEBINA'S. BLACKA])AR therewith, whereby elongation of the fabric- Witnesses;- by longitudinal strain on either its warp C. F. Bnowx, threads or its weft threads is prevented, the P. W. PEZZET'TI. 

